With great dismay we note that our co-pilot Adrian Berghea died yesterday after a long illness. We say goodbye to a precious friend, great sportsman and unique person. We condole his wife Alice and his relatives and mourn for him together with them. We will remember him forever in our memory.12/23/2013 - Season review 2012

With high hopes and amplified by the WM-experienced Adrian Berghea as co-pilot, the team around Valentin Hummel, who was elected as new funding candidate of the ADAC Stiftung Sport at the Essen Motor Show in late November and got Walter Röhrl as his new personal mentor, could be welcomed in the World Rally Championship 2012. As the ADAC Stiftung Sport but then could make no adequate budget for the Junior World Rallye Championship WRC Academy available, had to be rescheduled at short notice. In order to gather as much experience in all WM-routes of the WRC, pilot and co-pilot took part during the Recce-only in the Rally World Championship races Monte Carlo, Sweden, Portugal, Argentina, Greece, Finland. The WRC-run of Germany was then denied a #0-leading vehicle with the co-pilot Gino Kruhs, which made for more new experiences. Due to the failure in the Rally Saarland by technical defect the season ended, unfortunately without the desired finishing touch but with rich experience. We thank all the team members, sponsors, partners and companions for their support and wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.01/28/2012 - Season Review 2011

In the honoring of the ADAC HTH in Erfurt, Valentin Hummel was honored for his outstanding motorsport season 2011. The only 20-year-old student made it together with his co-pilot Katja Geyer within just 9 months of the ADAC Rally School, where he graduated as a course best, on the ADAC Rallye Masters, where both won the championship in division 7, up in the World Rally Championship where they finished together in the junior class at WRC Academy Rally Wales GB the remarkable 7th place of 17 starters.But not only in rally racing provided Valentin his talent, but also the 24-hour race in Dubai 2011, where he showed with 2nd place in the Porsche Cup class and 12th place in the overall standings, a super power.

We thank all the team members, sponsors, partners and companions for their support, without which this extraordinary successes would not have been possible and congratulate the pilots on these unique benefits!

11/12/2011 - P7 at first rally abroad and on gravel together with WRC Academy in Wales

Just in time to the season’s end there was still one special highlight for Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer left - they made their debut abroad at Rally Wales GB together with FIA WRC Academy, where both finished with a solid 7th place among 17 teams from all over the world. 3 days with 17 SSs, a total distance of more than 1,000 km and a predominant share of gravel, however, were a completely different challenge, as well as the Academy's own rally car, a Ford Fiesta R2 from M-Sport. After a whole season with the rear-driven BMW 120d Coupe, the Fiesta with front-wheel drive was also a new experience. But after a short day of testing together with the academy crews and the active support of the relevant service teams, both felt comfortable in the car and Valentin could constantly increase his speed. Despite some adversities, such as rain and fog, heavily damaged routes after the second pass of the WRC and a broken third gear on the last SS, both impressed at the end with top 3 section times not only the other crews, but were happy themselves about such a successful gravel debut far from their German homeland. more...

At the last final run of the ADAC Rally Masters, the 48th ADAC 3-Städte-Rally in Kirchham, Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer could cross the finish ramp as new champion in division 7 at this year's ADAC Rally Masters and as vice champion at ADAC Junior Cup. After a most eventful and selective rally, only 57 of 93 teams arrived at the finish and the joy of success was even clearer for our team. With an extensive award ceremony at Haslinger Hof in Bad Füssing it was finally time to celebrate together with their team-mates of Junior Cup and Rally Masters. At the same time this weekend, the last round of the HFM Hessian Rally Championship took place in Niestetal, where both couldn’t participate as they had to be present in Kirchham. No significant changes re. the championship placement, however, resulted from that event, so the team is as well the new vice champion in the Hessian Rally Championship and may still expect another trophy. We say congratulations and thank all our sponsors, team members and driver mates for their support! more...

At the decisive round of the Hessian Rally Championship and the DMSB Rally Cup mid the bad weather decided Valentin’s and Katja’s fate at rally Bad Emstal. They had hoped to start again with the BMW 120d, but due to the small number of starters again in their class, they decided to return with the Honda Civic of Schmack Motorsport. Due to the changing weather conditions with numerous rain showers, the tracks were gradually turned into a mud glissade and even the four-wheel driven cars turned through 360° some times. The switch from rear to front wheel drive and the unusual behaviour of the car under these conditions was very tricky, and the competition, which fought grimly, used her distinct advantage. Valentin demanded again the best possible from the car, but a 4th place in class was finally not enough to claim the lead in the championship any longer. more...

10/01/2011 - With P2 at Nibelungenring-Rally still facing Hessian and DMSB Rally Championship

The home event of Valentine Hummel and co-driver Katja Geyer was originally planned with the hitherto victorious BMW 120d Coupe, but due to the absence of starters in class G19 they had to reschedule at short notice. Without enough competitors they couldn’t gain enough points to defend the lead in the Hessian Rally Championship and the DMSB Rally Trophee mid. Therefore they hired the Gr. N Honda Civic of Schmack Motorsport in order to start in class 8, Gr. N/F, directly against the toughest competitor Benjamin Krusch. As Valentin never raced on this car before, he started off somewhat cautious in SS1. His direct competitor in the championships, Benjamin Krusch, however, started the rally like unleashed and had right a lead of 9.1 seconds with his first SS best time over Valentin, who was constantly approximating to the car’s limit. At the end Valentin and Katja were happy about their 2nd place in class and 11th place in the overall standings as they had demanded the best possibly result from the car and the track. more...

09/10/2011 - Best diesel driver and rank 4 and 5 at International North German ADAC Rally Cup 2011

After a further division win in last round of this year, the ADAC Ostsee-Rallye, Valentin Hummel reached rank 4 in the overall drivers’ standings of the International North German Rally Cup and received his first trophy in a rally championship. In addition, he is also awarded as "best diesel driver 2011” with the BMW 120d and his co-driver Katja Geyer reached rank 5 in the co-drivers’ classification. They participated in only 4 of the 5 runs for the North German Rally Cup and both could capture three victories in their division. The award ceremony took place during the ADAC Ostsee-Rallye in Grömitz, where they were congratulated by the officials of the ADAC Schleswig-Holstein.

09/10/2011 - 4th division win in a row at the first of two finals of the ADAC Rallye Masters

At the first final round of the ADAC Rally Masters, the 4th ADAC Ostsee-Rally in Grömitz, Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer showed once more an outstanding performance! With a 4th division win in a row they defended their second rank at ADAC Junior Cup and they actually would have reached after a successful rally a sixth place overall (!) before their rival Sepp Wiegand, but due to the delay at the finish ramp they were expulsed of the Top Ten and thrown back to 13th place. After having been blocked by another driver on 3 of 4 rounds on the circuit of SS12, they shortly parked, irritable and angry about such unprofessional behaviour, the BMW off-street in the ditch on liaison. The rescue of the buried car took longer than planned and both arrived unfortunately 13 minutes late at the finish ramp. Despite the time penalty of 2:10 min they finished thanks to a massive time lead again as division winner and were roundly complimented. more...

At the 21st ADAC Rallye Limes Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer could again reach on BMW 120d Coupé a fourth class win, although their class G19 was with 8 starters strongly contested. Due to this further class win, the two newcomers did not only hold the lead in the DMSB Rallyepokal Mitte and the Hessian Rally Championship HFM, but expanded it even further. After the disappointing early end at Rally Germany Katja and Valentin felt visibly comfortable in their own BMW and were happy that the unbroken winning streak since the beginning of the season could be continued. more...

08/19/2011 - Disappointing end and no luck at season's highlight ADAC Rallye Germany

After such a successful rehearsal at the rally Oberehe Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer travelled to Trier with anticipation for the season's highlight: the World Championship run of ADAC Rally Germany. The whole week was already filled with the recce schedule, organisational matters and adjustment of the car until the beginning on Thursday evening with the show start through the Porta Nigra. Unfortunately, the rally itself was very short, cause after an accident due to a mistake in the pace notes the team dropped out earlyFortunately Valentin and Katja remained completely unhurt, but they were visibly disappointed. For security reasons, the team had decided against a re-launch on Saturday, cause nobody could said for sure whether the engine or gearbox were damaged after the accident. The subsequent damage analysis report revealed several important points for the young team on which they are already working. more...

08/17/2011 - Test on Citroen DS3 R3T within Rally Germany in Bitburg

During the Rally Germany in Trier Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer had the opportunity to take a closer look at Citroen’s newest achievement: the Citroen DS3 R3. "MY Racing" invited them to a testing day at the airfield at nearby Bitburg, gave them a first introduction in the newest technology and all specifics of the car. After Valentin had passed the first test laps together with professional rally driver Sven Haaf, who was driving the DS3 at the Rally Germany as recce car, they could then test the new racing feeling as team - and they were stoked! The DS3 could very well be an interesting candidate for next season. Anyways, Rally Worldchamp Sebastien Loeb is currently flying in the big brother, the DS3 WRC, from victory to victory... more...

08/06/2011 - Class win and P6 overall at first time on Citroen C2R2Max at Rally Oberehe

A great first impression left Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer during their first rally on a Citroen C2R2Max at the 40th ADAC Rallye Oberehe, where they reached in addition to a superior class win a sixth place overall. The team, that pushed so far his successful racing career ahead on the BMW 120d, wanted to use this event with a car from Oliver Schumacher, H&S Rallyesport, especially in preparation for the Rally Germany in August in Trier, where both also will start on the Citroen C2R2Max. Despite the unusual front-wheel drive and some technical characteristics, it was not difficult to settle in for Valentin, thanks to his widespread racetrack experience with a variety of cars and soon both had despite the rain a lot of fun in the new car. After having crossed sideways the finish line on SS6, both reached after a real mud fight obviously satisfied the finish ramp, under the eyes of the team leader Oliver Schumacher. There are now two more weeks until the showdown at Rally Germany and the excitement getting back into the Citroen is as big as the tension of what the team will probably expect in Trier. more...

07/30/2011 - Defending the leadership at Hessian Championship with 3rd class win in a row

With their third class win in a row Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer defended their leadership during the third run of the Hessian Championship, the 6th DMV Kumho Main-Kinzig-Rally at Wächtersbach and could achieve a 17th place in the overall standings among 106 starters. Six special stages with short gravel sections and several highlights as jumps and creeks provided excitement and variety. Full of beans the team reached on the circuit of SS4 the 7th time overall, on SS5 even an incredible 3rd time overall! Even though some might have wondered whether Valentin and Katja flew instead of driving, with best time in class on all special stages the gained well-deserved the cup as class winner in G19. more...

At the 4th round of the German Rally Championship, the ADAC Rally Baden-Württemberg, Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer could record a sensational win in Div. 6 and a 20th place overall. In the most contested class, the Diesel division, both were able to prevail against their 12 competitors from the HJS Diesel Masters and placed the current leader Björn Mohr / Oliver Becker with 6 seconds ahead on rank 2. As guests at the service park of HJS Diesel Masters both had been looking forward to exciting duels in the diesel division and they should not be disappointed. To the split second they reached 10 best times in their division on the 14 SSs and ended up at P20 of 63 starters overall. Although, the rally was really turbulent due to changing weather conditions and some high-speed special stages. 2 SSs were shortened due to the weather conditions and the starting situation, one had to be abandoned after a car drove off the track. Two rounds of the Hessian championship are now on the program before mid-August the team will start at the next DRM-run, the Rally Germany in Trier. more...

07/02/2011 - Hattrick with 3rd win in a row in Div. 7 at Rally Niedersachsen in Osterode

Due to the third division win in a row at the 6th ADAC Rallye Niedersachsen in Osterode am Harz, Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer are now placed unchallenged with 62 points on rank 1 in the overall standings of Div. 7, prior to Borowski/Siems with 27 points and Moufang/Rost with 20 points. In the ADAC Junior Cup the team Hummel/Geyer could now place on rank 2, just behind the leader Sepp Wiegand. A sensational 12th place overall against much stronger competitors completes the great success of the most demanding rally so far with changing weather conditions and numerous rain showers. An initial position-fixing re. the HJS Diesel Masters by comparing with the team Jerlitschka/Jerlitschka (currently on P5 in the championship) on an Opel Astra GTC, the Cup car in 2009, ended with a lead of 41.8 seconds more clearly than expected. With 6 best times each of the demanding 12 SS, both teams shared the best times in thier division. On SS5, however, the clever choice of the tires brought the hoped-for benefit and could be transferred into a lead of 37 sec. With two 11th places in the overall standings of SS5 and SS12, the team finally reached a sensational 12th place overall. The subsequent inspection by the scrutineers showed with 1477 kg a more than 250 kg heavier weight than necessary, but ended without any complaints and with congratulations.more...

06/18/2011 - Second win in a row and P15 overall at 4th run of Rally Masters in Stemwede

At the 41th ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer had the luck on their side and scored confidently their second win in a row in division 7. They diligently refined the BMW the weeks before and the team had already a good feeling at the start. With new racing brake pads and a refined chassis, the team had this time good conditions to really attack in the race. Besides the weather also the technics caused trouble for many of the 58 started teams at this weekend and there had rarely been so many drop outs - only 32 teams could reach the finish ramp in the pouring rain. Without major problems also our team ended up a successful rally with an excellent 15th place overall, right ahead the both current leaders of the ADAC Junior Cup. With a second win in a row in their division they received further points to assert their third rank. more...

06/06/2011 - Season's interim results

After 6 rallies one-third of the season is done. With 3 classwins, 1x P3 and 2 drop outs, the start of the season was marked by ups and downs. Nevertheless, the preliminary results of Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer in the different rally championships are very good. They are now leading in the Hessian Automobil-Rallychampionship and in DMSB Rally-Cup Mid as well as Div. 7 in ADAC Rally Masters. At ADAC Rally Junior Cup they are on rank 3 and in the overall standings of ADAC Rally Masters on P7. For newcomers in Rally-Sport, as they are, a highly respectable performance.

05/28/2011 - First win in Div. 7 at third run of ADAC Rally Masters in Saarland

During the 3rd run of ADAC Rallye Masters Valentin Hummel and Katja Geyer took their first win in Div. 7 at the 22nd ADAC Rallye Litermont and gained further important points for the ADAC Rallye Junior Cup. The whole Friday team manager Gerolf Hummel worked together with rally expert Oliver Bliss from Bliss Autosport at the new Bilstein suspension kit for the BMW to be best prepared for Litermont. Even after the first section, the team stayed ahead of his competitors in Div. 7 and achieved by the end best time on almost every special stage. From the beginning under pressure all three competitors in Div. 7 gradually dropped out until SS8 and Valentin took out some speed on the last two SSs, also due to a decreased braking power. In the end the team celebrated its first win in Div. 7 as both have finished sovereignly this most eventful rally. They were also satisfied with P23 in the overall standings after only 34 teams finally crossed the finish ramp. Important were also the further points for the standings of the ADAC Rallye Junior Cup, where the team was now able to work ahead and to rank 3rd. more...

05/11/2011 - Classwin at Rally Braach by Valentin Hummel/Katja Geyer

With a 2nd class win in a row the team could live up on the surprising first success in Melsungen and gained more points in the standings for the Hessian Rally Championship - this time they also celebrated.Six special stages (100% asphalt) with a total length of 33 km were to meet on Saturday. At the start-finish stages WP 1/4 "Am Stock ", a former mountain race track, and WP 2/5 Valentin drove on familiar terrain, as both stages lead uphill and downhill through the forest and Valentin could take advantage of his experience in the German hillclimb championship. WP 3/6 was run as a circuit and offered many occasions to impress the spectators with speed, tight turns and precise maneuvers.In the end, the team could be glad about best time in class at all stages that leads to the 2nd class win in a row in class G19 (11 starters), with 42 seconds lead over the second one. Also in the group standings the team reached the second place where they had two much stronger Mitsubishi Evo 8 and Evo 10 left behind. The 12th place in the overall standings (of 56 teams) completed this success and strengthend the team confidence for the upcoming races. more...

04/30/2011 - P3 and first points for ADAC Junior Cup at Rally Sulingen

Valentin Hummel and his co-pilot Katja Geyer succeeded at the 2nd run of the ADAC Rallye Masters with 3rd place in their division and gained the first points in the ADAC Junior Cup standings. A strong international starting field of 110 teams from 5 nations arrived at the 24th ADAC Mobil Pegasus Rallye Sulinger Land. This was not surprising, as the special stages on the former IVG military area have always been one of the infamous challenges par excellence for every rallye driver.The routing through a lot of tight corners with hardly no landmarks, passing many old military buildings, required highest concentration from driver and co-pilot. Despite serial suspension and brakes Valentin and his co-pilot achieved on that stage best time in their division, as well as on the circuit special stage 13. Valentin and Katja finally arrived safely and earned the first points for place 3 in their division. They are currently ranked on place 5 in the overall standings of the ADAC Junior Cup. more...

03/26/2011 - Class Winner at 1st Rally in Melsungen

Rather spontaneously Valentin Hummel and co-driver Katja Geyer left for the first run of the Hessian Rally Championship at the North Hessian Melsungen, 30th Rally 200 "Auf nach Melsungen". In preparation and as a training for the upcoming ADAC Rallye Masters the team started with his own BMW 120d Coupé and could reach at first a great success as class winner. Although this was for both the first rally, they could place on every special stage at least in midfield. A particular challenge was the last stage, that was driven on gravel in the quarry of a basalt work. Here the asphalt spoiled Valentin impressed the spectators with many beautiful drifts and high speed. With a 25th place in the overall standings and a class win (8 starters) the duo enjoyed a successful start and gained their first rally trophy. more...

03/12/2011 - Happy about new team member Katja Geyer as Valentin's co-pilot

In rallying they say “Left is driving, right is thinking”. Much more joyful that a worthy candidate has been found for the free seat on Valentin’s right side. The marketing student Katja Geyer from Frankfurt will be the new co-driver for the upcoming rally season on the BMW 120d. They met at the ADAC Rally School in Oschersleben and both liked each other at the first attempt. On a trial basis they drove together a few laps on the karting track and they had an excellent teamwork in the cockpit from the beginning. Since childhood Katja Geyer is racing inspired, has since 2010 a national C license as steward candidate and came in contact with the rally scene. The many conversations with former rally drivers gave her the idea to participate in the rally school. Now both focus on careful planning and a comprehensive training program re. their first rally to start well prepared at the end of the month in Melsungen. more...

02/20/2011 - Best graduate at ADAC Rally School

After the team had shown its performance during the last 3 seasons with the BMW with bio-diesel in the disciplines of slalom, hill climb and circuit racing , just rally racing was missing. To get a picture of rallying, the team Valentin and Gerolf Hummel prepared for a weekend course at the ADAC Rally School in Oschersleben on the BMW. The instructors were the former World Cup participants Maik Steudten and Sebastian Geipel. For the pilots, including Valentin, the first day started with driving on the racetrack at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, accompanied by Maik Steudten, on the with winter tires driven BMW by just 4 °C outdoor temperature. The co-pilots, among Gerolf Hummel, were taught by Sebastian Geipel in several lessons the basics of rally driving. Then pilot and co-pilot started to a simulated rally. At the off-road park Oschersleben, a former quarry, they drove the first time on gravel. Although the biodiesel BMW was only equipped with a standard BMW Motorsport chassis, Valentin reported by very precise driving the fastest times. The final test at the kart track at the Motorsport Arena passed the team with flying colors. After the last examination Valentin went back onto the track, this time with the co-pilot Katja Geyer from Frankfurt, who had also participated in the seminar. Both straightaway got along well with each other and Katja could fully meet Valentin’s requirements. During the concluding meeting Valentin was honored as best graduate of the training and got the chance to use an ADAC Dacia Logan rally car in the upcoming season under the expert care of the instructors. Also Gerolf Hummel received the certificate with which he can now apply for his first racing license. Faithfully following the recommendation of the instructors not to team up with family members, a combination of Valentine Hummel and Katja Geyer was being considered. more...

10/15/2010 - Classwin by outstanding Valentin Hummel

For the 9th VLN-race of the season, the BMW 120d of the team was prepared with Ultraxx-brakepads from Movit and got fresh oil and filters. After the scrutineering was done on Friday without any problems, Valentin qualified the BMW on Saturday morning at only 7°C and rain with a laptime of 13:00.94 Min. on P157 of 186 Starters.

It was still raining at the start of the race, so Valentin started with rain-tyres. At the regular pitstop after 10 laps, Valentin asked for the condition of the rain-tyres, because the track had got dry on the racing line, what explained the team his shortly before driven fastest lap of 11:36.297 Min. in round 9. But the Yokohamas still looked good and also the sky was looking as it would start to rain soon. Therefore no slicks were fitted, what avoided a pitstop for changing tyres later. But the 5 rounds on dry track after the pitstop left their marks on the tyres, what got obvious after the race. But this did not harm Valentin to drive his fastest rain-laps and to overtake one after another competitor after it had stated to rain again. Shortly before the end of the race an ice pallet started and the race was stopped by red flag. The team around Valentin celebrated the second classwin of the season and the outstanding P89 of 186 starters on one of the slowest cars on the track. Thanks to the VentSuit, Valentin looked even after almost 4h racing fresh and beside the car has almost 1500kg, the Movit-brakepads still looked very good and without big signs of abrasion.

The trip to the Nürburgring was marked by a tyre-puncture at the trailer and because of this the necessary power measurement at Manthey-Racing was missed by the chief of the team. Thanks to the cooperation of Manthey-Racing and the technical commissioner the date was posponed to Saturday morning at 6.30. But also the extension of the cars documents, new stickers of the series-sponsors and the technical scrutineering at never ending rain at 8°C requiered all power of the chief of the team. Therefore he was very happy when everything was done until the training on saturday morning started and Valentin qualified the BMW with a 12:22.323 Min. on P171 of 201 cars. A better position was possible, but the driver decided not to change from rain-tyres to slicks for the last minutes, when the track had dried up because the race would last 4h and a better position on the grid would be only helpful for the prestige. For the race the track was still wet and the team choose semi-slicks, the consevative option, because the forecast promised rain during the race. But this was wrong and it didn´t rain during the whole race, what is unusual for the Nurbrugring.

The planed pitstop was done regularly after 2 hours and after a bid more than 3 hours, Valentin came in the pits again because he had no brakes anymore. During the brake-check the race was finished with red flag by the officials because of too many accidents on the track. So, luckily, the team won in class and got P129 of 198 startet cars overall. Beside a best laptime of 10:52,76 Min. in lap 8 and very regular laptimes over the whole race, Valentin was very happy with the new VentSuit and issued, that he could have continued another 2 hours without getting tired. This turbulent weekend then ended up at the award ceremony with a trophy.

At the 8th VLN-race of season 2010, the BMW 120d Coupé RME with Valentin Hummel as driver will definively start. The car has the new developed driver-ventilation-system VentSuit of Autoflug on board. We are very curious, what kind of experience the driver will make with it.

08/01/2010 - Yearlong race-break ended

Caused by the strong sportif development of our regular driver Valentin Hummel and the collission of dates when driving for other teams, no further participations in races took place in 2009. In 2010 Valentin Hummel had to prepare himself for his examns at highschool until May and needed full concentration on that and when he couldn´t race with the team. After he graduated sucessfully now, he can do motorsports again and is at the disposal of the team. His first entry is planed for VLN-race 8 at 25th September on the Nurburgring.

12/07/2009 - P3 at DMV Yokohama GreenTec-Cup for Valentin Hummel

At this years DMV Championship celebration, Valentin Hummel got honoured for his 3rd position in the DMV Yokohama GreenTec-Cup. Already in last years celebration he was honoured, but at that time as the winner. For him, a season with a strong sportif development finished with success. We wish him all the best for next season.

After Valentin Hummel has already started motorsports-activities outside the eco-racing-team, he has now launched his own websites. The english version will be found under www.valentin-hummel.com and the german version under www.valentin-hummel.de. We wish all readers interesting news to find there!

08/07/2009 - Valentin Hummel tested Alpina-Workscar

By invitation, Valentin Hummel visited the factory of Alpina on 1st of August, to see, where the manufacturer of exclusive automobiles from Buchloe in Germany also builts up the B6 GT3 racecars, he has already used in 2 races this season. The invitation for a testday with the worksteam on the Hockenheimring was followed accordingly on 6th of August with a big smile.in his face. Beside him, also wellknown Claudia Hürtgen and Jens Klingmann were testing for the team that day and all the various experiences made in the individual laps were discussed and exchanged by the drivers. At the end of the testday the Youngster in the team was very happy with the improved handling of the racecar. The offer, to drive one of the workscars at the ADAC GT Masters on the Nürburgring in 2 weeks would he immediately followed, if the necessary budget can be found in such a short time. We hope that he can find it and can show us his talent again. Good luck!

07/26/2009 – Valentin Hummel had no luck at the 24h of Spa

At the highlight of the GT- season, the 24 hours of Spa Francorchamp (B), Valentin Hummel failed because of a technical defect. Here the details from the beginning: In the training-sessions on wet track with slicks, the only 18y.+118d. old "youngest driver in the competition" was more than 1,5 Sec. faster than the other 7 drivers on the 2 BMW-Alpina B6 GT3 in the team Sport Garage, what gave him the No1-Status on the car. Also he was fastest GT3-driver under this difficult trackconditions on the grid. Therefore he was much obliged to drive the Qualifying and the start-stint of the race. When the first qualifying began, the track was dry. To run-in the new brakepads he started for one round to come into the box after and go out on Qualifying-tyres when it began to rain heavily after half a round and he had to change on rain-tyres. The whole rest of the qualifying it remained raining and it was not possible to qualify the car better than position 37. Many other teams were more lucky and had even one qualifying-lap in dry conditions. As a 24-hour race is not won in the first corner the Youngster did not care a fig of it.

Valentin Hummel on BMW Alpina B6 GT3 in challenging "Eau Rouge"

After the start he immediately startet with his catch-up race and after 2 laps he already had improved 8 positions and was driving constant laptimes around 2.32 Min.. In lap 3 suddenly the engine collapsed and lost oil started to burn immediately. Keeping cool he drove the burning car beside the track, released the fire-extinguisher and went out of the car. So the race had ended much to early for all participants of the team and frustrated the driver took his way home. We wish more luck for next time!

At the races 5 and 6 of the FIA GT3-European Championship the 18Y52d old Youngster Valentin Hummel gave his debut on a BMW Alpina B6 GT3.of the MP Racing-Team as the youngest driver in the race. His team-mate on the car with #34 was the 22 years old french Michael Petit, french GT3-Vice-Champion 2007. The second car of the team was driven by Gilles Vannelet, also french GT3-Vice-Champion and European GT3-Champion 2007 and Chris Dymond, "Rookie of the Year" in the british Renault Clio Cup 2007 and former driver of the GT3-Jaguar in the GT3-European Championship..

Even though Valentin Hummel had no testing of the car ever and before the weekend, he was faster in the first free practice than his teammate. In the second free practice this changed and his teammate was slightly faster. In the first Qualifying his teammate had a 1.32,075Min. and set the car on startpoint 17 of 30 cars for race 1. In the second Qualifying it was Valentin Hummel that had a 1.31,977Min. and therefore was even faster than his teammate but in comparison with the best GT-drivers in Europe this sufficed only for startingpoint 23 of 30 cars for race 2. In the first race Michael Petit drove the start-stint, but lost valuable time when spinning once and came in the box for the driverchange, lying on position 24 at that moment. Valentin Hummel then constantly drove lap-times of 1.33,xxxMin. and finished the race in position 23 of 27 cars.

At the because of wet track behind the safetycar started second race, Valentin Hummel drove the start-stint and could with constant times around 1.32,xxx Min. and a best lap of 1.32,559 Min. be the fastest of all 4 drivers in the team. Shortly before the driverchange he made a mistake and drove beside the track and lost 15 seconds. Outstanding was, that he easily could follow Klaus Ludwig in his Lamborghini Gallardo and leave Jean-Denis Deletraz on Audi R8 behind himself. After the driverschange the car had not full power anymore and in the box the defect of the compressor was found out.that let the team give up after 24 laps. Even if this result did not satisfy the 2 drivers they have shown up with a sucessful performance and we hope,that they will find the necessary budget for the next race in Portimao/Portugal. We wish all the best!

05/16/2009 - Valentin Hummel will start on BMW Alpina B6 GT3

After the driverspair Hummel/Petit already had a class-win in the german endurance-championship VLN together, they will now start in the Team Sport Garage at the 5th and 6th round of the FIA GT3-European Championship at Oschersleben on 20th/21st June together in a BMW Alpina B6 GT3. Good luck!

06/13/2009 - Classwin for Valentin Hummel and Michael Petit

At the fourth race in the German Endurance Championship VLN on Nürburgring, Valentin Hummel had the 22 year old Michael Petit from St. Etienne (F), well known from the FIA GT3-EM, as his new teammate on the BMW 120d Coupé. The Newcomer got used to the track very fast and was able to drive under 11 Min. already in the Qualifying. With his best lap of 10.43Min. he was a little bid faster than Valentin Hummel who drove a 10.47 Min. during his 2 laps of Qualifying. For the start of the race, the officials decided to let the car start as the last one of the second startgroup. The start and the first stint of 8 laps were driven by Valentin Hummel where he had a best lap of 10.40Min.. The drivers change was just done and Michael Petit on the track when the race was stopped by red flags. The second start and second stint of 7 laps was driven by Michael Petit, who had a 10.39,839 Min. and therefore the teams best laptime at this weekend. The last stint was done by Valentin Hummel who drove the car over the finishline to the classwin and on P113 of 155 starters overall. Congratulations to the new drivers-couple. We hope to see them together again.

The race-weekend of the 24h in the "green hell" started promising with P5 in the first qualifying, driven by Michael Funke in wet conditions with intermediates. When Valentin took over the car with intermediates it started to rain heavier and he had to change on wet tires and couldn´t improve the time of his teammate. This happened also to Damian Flack and Heribert Steiner, the other drivers, that took over the car one by one. On the next day, the second qualifying was under dry conditions, so the Team decided, that only Michael Funke should drive the car. In his first round the engine stopped running in section "Brünnchen". After a provisional repair the car just went again until that point when he failed again. Until the end of Q2 no full lap could be driven. So the Team dropped to P88. Later a blank cable was found, that stopped the control unit and engine.

In the race the car started from P54 in starting group 1 and Michael Funke passed 31 competitors in the first lap. After 7 laps, on P16 in the meantime, he came in the pits with a broken ancillary unit that was caused by a stone. After a repairtime of 2 1/4 hours, Valentin went out on the grid. The Team gave him a limit of 8.000RPM and 280km/h on his way what he perfectly permuted. Under dry conditions he was able to drive around 9.30Min constantly, with a best time of 9.26 Min. After 9 laps he came in the pits, when the car started to burn a little. Later the mechanics found a hair crack in the engineblock that caused 5L of missing oil. To change the engine would have lasted another 3,5 hours so the team decided to give up.

05/15/2009 - Valentin Hummel drives a BMW M3 GTR ALMS E92

After Valentin Hummel had serious disbeliefs about the durability of the BMW 135d Coupé of André Ibron for the 24h-Race at Nurburgring, he was happy to get the chance to test a BMW M3 GTR ALMS under the competent eyes of Michael Funke (1997-2005 Ford-Worksdriver) and Tom Schirmer (Chief Team Schirmer) and to qualify himself for the last remaining driver-seat in the team.

The strong rain on the track was highly appreciated by the rainspecialist and so Tom Schirmer registered the Youngster already in his second lap with under 10 Min., what surprised all attendees. The later evaluated video and technical data of the testdrive underlined the extraordenary talented Youngster and the cockpit for the 24h-race was fixed. The 24h-race on the Nurburgring on the M3 will be the biggest challenge for the young driver and we wish him and Team Schirmer good luck!

05/02/2009 - Bad luck at the general rehearsal for the 24h

The general rehearsal for the 24h-race on the BMW 135d of André Ibron didn´t work as it was planed. On friday Valentin didn´t even drive because of a defect in the fuel system. That problem could be solved on the same evening.

Saturday morning was very sunny and the drivers wanted to start into the practice but the engine didn´t start.

When the car finally started there was only time left to let all three drivers drive one lap. Valentin was the last one driving when the car switched into engine security programm because of too high watertemperature at Tiergarten. Valentin asked the chief what to do and he told him to come slowly back to the pits. But the oiltemperature rose to nearly 150 °C and he stopped beside the track.

After the car was brought back to the box it came out that there was no water left in the coolingsystem anymore and it couldn´t be repaired until the race because the engine was finished.

04/18/2009 - Best in Class at the first VLN race

As Best in Class in the Deutsche Langstreckenmeisterschaft VLN at Nürburgring Nordschleife the team with the drivers Valentin Hummel and André Ibron made a perfect season beginning.

The race took place under badest conditions with contineous rain and partial foggy visibility. That's why 41 of 181 competitors failed, mostly because of crashes. In the main classment the team achieved position 127 of 140 finished. This great success lets the team look hopefully into the season 2009.

03/28/2009 - Freezing on highest level

Befor the first race of the season for the Deutsche Langstreckenmeisterschaft VLN the yearly testday took place at the Nordschleife. The team didn't miss that opportunity and tested with the drivers Jürgen Elbracht, Andreas Gummerer, Markus Gummerer and Valentin Hummel. For Valentin Hummel the testday was exactly on his 18th birthday and toasted to this memorable day at the Dorint hotel's bar. The first congratulator was Hans Jürgen Hilgeland, president of the VLN Deutsche Langstreckenmeisterschaft.

With rain, cold wind and hailstorm, which caused a more than one houre brake, everyone froze and nobody wanted to change anything on the car.

Jürgen Elbracht and Valentin Hummel drove some laps on the GP track and 3-4 laps on the Nordschleife. The Gummerer brothers only did 3 laps on the GP track. On April 2nd Jürgen Elbracht told the team that he wouldn't drive the first race of the season because it isn't enough challenge for him. The team didn't find a driver with budget in that short time and had to cancel the first race on April 4th.

02/26/2009 - A deliacy for the season's beginning

For the plans of 2009 to drive beside Deutsche Bergmeisterschaft VLN and 24h Nürburgring (Deutsche Langstreckenmeisterschaft) a new driver, Jürgen Elbracht from Glottertal, came to the team. The 19 years old student of engineering at TH Offenburg completes with his Formula Renault and Formula 3 experience the team besiede the youngster Valentin Hummel.

For a first position-fixing the drivers followed an invitation of Oreca to test the new sportprototyp Courage Oreca FLM09 at Paul Ricard HTTT near Marseille on February 26th.

With bright sunshine and 13-15°C outside temperature the youngsters enjoied the 10 laps with advices of Stephane Ortelli.

Both drivers got out of the car with a wide smile and said that the brakes, the 6.2l V8 engine and the handling was perfect.

With Olivier Panis and Andy Priaulx on the track that wasn't motorsport kindergarden no more. Finally both drivers qualified with not more than 10sec slower than the best time of the day. Jürgen Elbracht could use his whol formula experience and was the faster one in the team.

With both drivers it will get an interesting season.

12/14/2008 - Students of University of Applied Science Offenburg at Photo-Appointment

Students and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kuhnt came together with the winning driver Valentin Hummel at the end of the racing-season in the german hill-climb championship together with his cups and the racing-car. The themes and students around the winning biodiesel-racing-car were:

- Hillclimb-simulation, Harald Debacher and Daniel Vogel

- Shockabsorber-analyses, Matthias Weinland

- Cetannumber-analyses of different fuels and fuel-mixtures, Patrick Hoferer and Philipp Lang